The costs of new housing construction have spiralled upward throughout the last years, and many potential buyers of new homes have decided to stay in their current home and simply make additions to the existing structure. One addition that has become popular is to add a deck, or other framed structure, to an existing house. Many popular framed, deck-kits are available to homeowners who wish to follow instructions or there are a number of national or local companies that will not only supply the lumber and hardware, but also build the structure at a desired location.
Of the many popular deck styles currently available, problems with the specific design or the construction techniques needed may cause dissatisfaction with the finished product. One major problem with some kits is that, to finally end up with a well-built and esthetically pleasing structure, a very large number of "finish" pieces must be nailed over the basic skeletal structure, to cover up unsightly joints. This increases the cost of the finished product and of course, with many pieces to use, adds to the time necessary to complete the project. Many designs advertise that load-bearing joints, or where the center of mass of all weight (no matter what the height), rest firmly on and over the foundation, are utilized at the junction of posts and beams, when in fact the construction is only partially load-bearing because the beam is nailed into a cleft the size of the width and depth of the beam on the edge of the post. This construction brings with it a number of structural weaknesses: for instance, in the first place the cleft in a 4".times.4" post, for example, is only 11/2" in depth and not in the center of the beam. If the post dimensions are 4".times.4" (which, in reality is only 31/2".times.31/2"), only 43% of the cross-sectional area of the post provides the support. Also, since nails are put in transverse to the direction of the load, any separation of these members at the cleft will weaken the junction.
Another common practice in current constructed frame decks or additional, framed rooms is to join the joists to the side beams by the common lap joint. Use of this technique, where part of either end of the joist is cut away and these sections are fittingly joined into appropriately sized cut away spaces in the side or facing beams, only provides a partial support at the junction because of the missing sections of both the joist and beam.